Cat-kidnap report in Smithfield Twp. spreads quickly over Internet

It happened so quickly, said Smithfield resident Cindy Licurgo. A woman pulled up to Licurgo's property in an older white van with a blue stripe, jumped out and grabbed Licurgo's beloved cat "Lucky Ducky" from the front yard and sped off.

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By CHRISTINA TATU

poconorecord.com

By CHRISTINA TATU

Posted Aug. 9, 2012 at 12:01 AM

By CHRISTINA TATU

Posted Aug. 9, 2012 at 12:01 AM

» Social News

It happened so quickly, said Smithfield resident Cindy Licurgo.

A woman pulled up to Licurgo's property in an older white van with a blue stripe, jumped out and grabbed Licurgo's beloved cat "Lucky Ducky" from the front yard and sped off.

Word about the July 27 incident on Chariton Drive spread quickly thanks to an email chain, Facebook messages and Craigslist posting about the mysterious woman and her van.

"It was shocking. I cried for five days," said Licurgo. "I don't think I'm ever going to get (Lucky) back."

Licurgo was sitting on her front porch that day while Lucky and Licurgo's four other cats played in the front yard. The van pulled up to the portion of the yard bordering Chariton Drive, and a woman got out and grabbed Lucky.

Licurgo said she reported the petnapping to state police at Swiftwater, but an officer who answered the phone Monday was unaware of the incident.

Brian Kimmins, a spokesman for the Stroud Area Regional Police Department, said police there received an anonymous tip about the van. So far, SARP has not received any other reports about the van and there doesn't seem to be an increase in the number of pets reported missing, he said.

Emails about the incident started circulating last weekend when Elgrit Russell, coordinator of "The Animal Defenders," an animal welfare service she runs from her East Stroudsburg home, received a message.

Russell doesn't remember who sent the original email, but said she promptly sent it to her mailing list of about 300.

The Animal Welfare Society of Monroe County posted Lucky's picture on its Facebook page. The 6-year-old black-and-white cat has a white chest and belly, and a little white "half-smile" on her black face.

"There have been reports of a White Van with a blue stripe stealing our pets out of our yards," said an alert that AWSOM posted on its Facebook page. That alert was "shared" more than 400 times by Facebook users.

AWSOM Manager Mark VanGasteren hasn't received any other reports about animals being stolen.

The Pennsylvania Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals is aware of the reported petnapping, but has not investigated it because the act of theft is a police issue, said Liz Anderson, Monroe County's humane officer.

She was not aware of any other pets being stolen.

If a pet goes missing, residents should call the dog warden and AWSOM to see if the pet was dropped off there.